US rules out lifting Iran sanctions as “bonus” for potential deal

The United States will not unfreeze Iranian assets or lift sanctions against the Islamic Republic as a goodwill gesture in the event of a potential agreement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated during hearings before the House Appropriations Committee of Congress.

“The sanctions that are directly related to the nuclear program, the more they give theoretically, the more they should be willing to get. What they're not going to get is a down payment. They're not going to get it as a signing bonus,” Rubio said in response to a question about the possible unfreezing of Iranian assets or the removal of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

He further emphasised that, of course, if those funds were used to finance proxy forces, they would not be returned. 

Rubio also stressed that discussions on a potential easing of US restrictions are limited to “specific sanctions directly related to Tehran’s nuclear program.”

By Jeyhun Aghazada